Wounded Palestinian (Archive photo)
Photo: Reuters
Reality of war
Photo: AFP
Court to rule: Will Israel compensate Palestinians?
Nine High Court judges asked to rule on legality of 'Intifada Law,' which deprives Palestinians of their right to claim compensation for damages caused by security forces
The High Court on Tuesday is expected to submit its ruling on a petition filed by nine human rights organizations, which demanded to cancel a legislation which prevents Palestinians from claiming compensation from the State.
According to the amendment to the law, which is also called the "Intifada Law" and was approved by the Knesset about a year and a half ago, residents of the territories, citizens of "enemy countries" and operators of "terrorists' organizations" are deprived of the right for compensations following damages caused by security forces, also not as part of war activities.
The court ruling will be given by an extended panel of nine judges.
The organizations claimed that "the amendment to the civil Damages Law, which deprives (Palestinians) of their right to claim compensation also for damages caused not during war activities is a racist and unethical law, and it also leads to lack of control over the army's activities in the occupied territories."
The petitioners also asked the High Court to rule that Basic Law: Human Dignity and Liberty applies to all the residents of the areas controlled by Israel.
Violation
Ali Waked
B'Tselem human rights organization demands IDF investigate claims that soldiers executed three Palestinian gunmen injured in exchanges of fire in village of Yamoun
The amended law authorizes the defense minister to declare every area in the territories an "area of confrontation," even if no fighting has been held there, thus depriving any person who suffered damages in the area of the right to claim compensation at a court of law.
The law retroactively applies to damages caused since September 29, 2000 and to pending court cases.
The State's response presented by the State Prosecutor's Office said: "The conflict between Israel and the Palestinians since the year 2000 is a war in every respect."
According to the State Prosecutor's Office, if the amendment isn't accepted, an absurd situation could be created in which "Israel, the attacked side, will be responsible for damages of war, as well as the Palestinians."
It was written in the response: "The war obligated Israel to match its damage laws, which weren't suited to the special characteristics of war, to the new situation that was created."
The State Prosecutor's Office tried to explain the complicated situation in the field. "Fighting in an authority that isn't a state, even if it is a political entity, that is contained within territory that is partially held in a militant perspective, is a situation that veers from the acceptable."
They also added, "If the Palestinian Authority were an enemy state, the amendment would be superfluous. However, this is a terrorist authority that is hostile toward Israel."
Petitioners: This is an unethical and racist law
The organizations for their part emphasized in the petition that "this is a law that grossly violates the legal humanitarian principles and the international law of human rights, occurring in the Occupied Territories, and damages fundamental rights in contradiction to the foundation law: respecting a person and his freedom. Therefore, the amendment is not constitutional."
"This law puts forth a principled, severe, and extreme message according to which the lives and rights of those damaged, residents of the conflict area, have no value because the court won't provide them any assistance and because he who hurts them gets off free," wrote the petitioners.
The petition also stated: "This is an unethical and racist law, whose interpretation legally clears in effect the supervision of the military operations in the Occupied Territories. They encourage a lack of holding investigations and the lack of trying those responsible for death and injury caused by negligent or malicious shooting, abuse and torture, looting and damaging civilian property."
The petition was submitted in September 2005 by Adalah, the legal center for Arab minority rights in Israel, the Association for Civil Rights in Israel, al-Haq, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights, B'Tselem, Doctors for Human Rights, the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel, and Rabbis for Human Rights.
